There are fewer teams in college basketball who have played better than the Razorbacks since Jan. 1. Most of that success should be attributed to the stellar play from senior JD Notae.
Notae has been going back and forth all season long with Vanderbilt’s Scotty Pippen Jr. for the SEC scoring crown.
Notae, averaging 19.1 ppg, has recorded six games in which he’s scored 25+ points this season and he has the Razorbacks in position to compete for the SEC Championship once the post-season tournament begins. Notae is doing it on both ends. He’s tied for first in steals per game in the SEC with 2.2 spg.
The transfer senior will likely be competing against Kentucky’s Oscar Tschiebwe (16.9 ppg, 15.3 rpg), Vanderbilt’s Pippen Jr. (20.2 ppg, 2.0 spg).
Which Arkansas Basketball players have been SEC Player of the Year?
If Notae is able to secure the prestigious individual award, he would become just the fourth Razorback to ever win the award. He currently averages 19.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 2.2 spg for Arkansas.
All-time great Corliss Williamson was a back-to-back SEC Player of the Year for the 1993-94 (20.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and 1994-95 seasons (19.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg).
Bobby Portis earned the award for the 2014-15 season. He averaged 17.5 ppg, 8.9 rpg in helping Arkansas finish 27-9.
Mason Jones was named a Co-Player of the year for the 2019-20 season (22 ppg, 5.5 rpg) along with Mississippi State’s Reggie Perry (17.4 ppg, 10.1 rpg) and Kentucky’s Immanuel Quickley (16.1 ppg, 4.1 apg).
The Razorbacks have just two regular season games remaining this season before they enter the SEC post-season tournament and eventually the NCAA March Madness tournament later this month.